Conservative German lawmaker is quitting Merkel's party

German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks after she was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Leuven and the University of Ghent during an academic ceremony in Brussels on Thursday Jan. 12, 2017. Merkel received the honorary doctorate for her diplomatic and political efforts to develop the political strength of Europe, and to defend the values that allow Europe to find unity in diversity. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
(The Associated Press)

BERLIN – A lawmaker who has long been critical of Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies says she is leaving the German leader's conservative party, citing discontent over Merkel's approach to migrants.

Erika Steinbach, 73, has been a lawmaker for Merkel's Christian Democratic Union since 1990. But the conservative hardliner has increasingly been at odds with the chancellor, criticizing the most recent Greek bailout and Merkel's welcoming approach to migrants in 2015.

Steinbach was quoted Saturday as telling the Welt am Sonntag newspaper: "Would I vote CDU at the moment? No. Would I join the CDU today? No. I can only draw the honest conclusion of leaving the CDU."

Steinbach says allowing people into Germany for months without identifying them properly goes "against our laws and against EU treaties."